Markey touts telecom experience in first TV ad of Senate race

While Republican Gabriel Gomez continued to emphasize his personal life story in a web ad released in the wake of his primary win last week, U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-5th, is highlighting one of his accomplishments in Congress in his new 30-second ad, grabbing credit for his work on a 1996 law that he says unleashed competition in the telecommunications industry.

By State House News Service

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

By State House News Service

Posted May. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 8, 2013 at 8:17 AM

By State House News Service
Posted May. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 8, 2013 at 8:17 AM

» Social News

Congressman Edward Markey is the first candidate in the U.S. Senate general election race with a TV ad.

While Republican Gabriel Gomez continued to emphasize his personal life story in a web ad released in the wake of his primary win last week, Markey is highlighting one of his accomplishments in Congress in his new 30-second ad, grabbing credit for his work on a 1996 law that he says unleashed competition in the telecommunications industry.

Markey himself appears in the first half of the ad before it transitions to testimonials from Diane Hessan, president and CEO of Communispace and Nicholas Lowe, a partner at 451 Marketing. The ad suggests the 1996 law helped lead to the development of broadband, smartphones, Facebook, Skype, Google, with Markey noting that none of those things existed in 1996 before Hessan credits the Malden Democrat's work on the 1996 law and its positive impact on competition, investment and jobs in the industry.

Markey’s campaign on Wednesday also pointed out that in its endorsement of Markey before the primary, the Boston Globe called him “the House’s main architect of federal telecommunications policy, guiding the creation of millions of jobs - including many in Massachusetts.”

On the heels of last week's primaries, the ads show Markey, who held slender leads over Gomez in a pair of post-primary polls, is willing to spend early on in the general election that will culminate with the June 25 special election.

Gomez quickly knocked Markey on his new ad. “Al Gore invented the internet and it turns out that Ed Markey invented the telephone.” Gomez said in a statement.

"Ed Markey’s first ad starts out by saying ‘twenty years ago’, just shows you how stuck in the past he is. If Congressman Ed Markey wants to remind the voters that he’s been in Washington for 36 years that’s fine, but it would’ve been nice if he’d mentioned the over $1 million his campaign has accepted from the telecommunications industry he is supposed to be regulating, or that the reason your cable bill is so high is thanks to legislation he supported that stifled competition and eliminated jobs.”